Recording of Live Q & A with Carlos - A Filipino International Student

I'm Carlos Solomon, junior. I arrived in New Zealand last year from the Philippines. I'm studying Healthcare and Well-being at level 4. We are support workers for patients who have disabilities and addictions. The first time I arrived in school, my classmates were so loud like: ”Ohh, welcome, welcome here”. And then yeah, so jolly in class. People welcome you in the positive way. Now I have more confidence because we collaborate, and we always support each other. It helped me to boost my personality gain more knowledge and skills and also helped me to mold my well-being.   

In the morning when we're starting our class, we do the karakia (Māori prayer) and then we start the Māori cultures, some Pacifica. After that we have group scenario. What we learn is what the possible outcomes are that we can apply when we're doing practicum or in the work in the workplace.  

My classmates here, it's like having new sisters and brothers. There are a lot of nationalities in our class, so I feel enlightened because we learn from each other's backgrounds and cultures. I'm the first one from my mother's side going to New Zealand. Yeah. My mom and my father are always proud of me. After I graduate, I will be a support worker. I want to be another helping hand for the aged care and the kids who have a disability. It's kinda near to my heart. 

 How are you? 

I'm good now. I'm super good. I'm so excited to be here and answer some questions of my colleagues. Yeah. Future colleagues. 

Thank you for taking the time, I know that your experience of studying and living in New Zealand will be of great value to those that are back in their home countries considering studying abroad. So thank you. And we have a question that's come through that says: 

I tried to collaborate with my classmates and then know each other and also their backgrounds and then tried to jive with some, if we have some similarities when it comes to our culture and background too. That's the starting point. And then once we have the feeling that we drive together. then it will get along more easier and talk to each other more easier. 

The first time I went here, I tried the transportation here. The first one is the the bus. Ohh, it's so amazing. And the bus is so clean and tidy. You can also use the hub card for you to travel. Also those that have a card can use it in trains and even some boats in the viaduct. I tried the viaduct and the train is so, so amazing. And it's so clean. It feels like you're in a movie, something like that. 

There's I think 10% for 25 years old below. And then for the 25 years up, if you are still a student, I think something like around 6% for the minimum fare. 

In the Philippines, the culture is different when you need to ride with some public vehicles. It's too tiring and then you have to wait for long, long hours. Unlike here, they will wait for the whole bus to get full to get started. Here in New Zealand, there's a specific time for the bus to get off. So it's easy for you, especially if you're running late or something like that into a particular schedule. 

Ohh, it's kinda quite easy and hard. Easy when it comes to a socialising with other people. But it's kind of hard for me when it comes to the weather because in the Philippines we only have two weather, the rainy and the summer. But here we have four and then they're saying that there’s four seasons in one day. So it's kind of cold. And then on this, I had my first time experiences with snow on Mount Ruapehu. It made me so happy because it was my inner child's dream.  

The first thing you need to do is widen your vocabulary when it comes to studying here. In my experience in the Philippines, we have multiple choice and then filling the blanks when it comes to test. But here it's all about how do you explain. How you use your vocabulary to explain the scenarios and how to apply it, also when it comes to practicum. And you need to be open minded when it comes to accepting other cultures and other backgrounds, because here we study Māori cultures and Pacific cultures. 

 It lasts around nine months. I started last September and then it ended something like around July.  

We went to NZMA, in the CBD. We asked if there's a time for enrolment? By the time that we knew this, the enrollment was already closed. That's why I went to another option, which is in Manukau. We asked for the receptionist and also the manager, when the next enrollment is for us to comply and to enroll. 

Yes, future New Zealand students, it's really important for you to know which institution you like. The one that fits your personality and also your plans and your goals, so that it will not be misled or something like that you have better options elsewhere. You want to know what kind of course you are into and what kind of strengths they have. Because in my experience on my course, we have two strength in my course, which is the community support work and the mental health one. 

Me and my auntie and my mom, we searched on Google which institution were kind of near to my location. That's the first one. And then second, if the system will show on enrollment is kind of near for my schedule. And then there’s the tuition of course. 

From my observation and experience, it's kind of good if you start in the first quarter so that you're going to end I think end of the year, so that the next year you can you're already finish. 

Yes, because the first time I arrived here in New Zealand, me and my mom were on a visitor visa. And then on my third month that I was visiting, my family decided for me to: “Ohh, Carlos we decided for you to enrol here”, and I said: “OK”. I just want to accept it because I want to fulfil also my inner child's dream which is to become a professional in the healthcare sector.  

When it comes to it, I rate it 10 out of 10, because of my experience. 

You can apply your studies in another field, because you already gained the certificate, the skills and the knowledge here in New Zealand. So you will be more competent.  

From my own understanding it is all about how do you deal with other cultures? And about respect. There should be respect because as long as you know how to respect not only the culture, but also the person itself. If you respect that person, you also respect their culture. So our future New Zealand students, get along with them and also don't forget to respect them. And be mindful of the words or something like you know, that can affect your personality and their personality. 

The first thing that I learned is when I did the practicum, the OJT (on the job training) knowing how to use the, the hoist, standing hoist and then full body hoist. That's for those people who have a disability, for those standing hoist, for those people who can stand and travel to other areas. And then the full body hoist for those people who have spinal injuries. And then also, using some equipment that can be used inside the facility or in the house care. So really hands-on learning. 

I can say that I'm a better version of myself now because I gained more patience and also again, more strength and being independent and have more knowledge. That's why I think it changed my mindset. It kind of helped me to boost my personality too.  

Not in particular. You need to have a background because some of my classmates, they are moms, they are dads which means they are also they are taking care of their children. It’s also additional experience if you have experience taking care of a people who have a disability. And if you have a background and experience in the Philippines in the same field, it's kind of an additional aspect. But it's not that totally required that you need to have a background on that particular side. But if you have, it's better. 

On my campus, they always have support when it comes to you need it. For example some assistance for immigration, something like you need to have a background when it comes to applying for student visa, something like that. My campus has that. So it's it's quite good and easy for the international student assistance. 

It’s quite a different because in the Philippines we only have the lectures, only the lectures once and then the hands on will be on the job training. Unlike here you have the lecture, you have the on the job training and you also learn during the lecture about the scenarios. Those scenarios will help you too and boost your personality, your knowledge. And 100% of it you can apply when you come into the health sector field. So it's all a hands on. 

We have a lot of scenarios. But the one commonly used scenario is that we have is: There's are two support workers, one patient and one final (family member) of the the patient. Then if the patient went to go to another place, we need to have advice or permission from the final before we go to the other places. It's just like a permission thing. And then we will also have a scenario, where we will use the proper handling of the patients when lifting them from the bed up to the commode and then from bed to the wheelchair, lifting them from bed using the full body hoist - overall from inside and outside. It should be a, you know , the proper way and also to know how to lessen the hazards that can be encountered. When you do the scenarios, it's not only that you just deliver, but also about for you to gain knowledge that you can share with other colleagues too. 

 Yes, before I applied or enrolled they required me to have an IELTS International English Learning test. It is one of the requirements of the enrollment. 

It’s not inside our school but we have that in the Manakau campus and also one of our tutors ia one of those who will support you with those concerns. 

Yes, we always have some gatherings when it comes to all international students. For example, I'm from the Philippines, and then there's some Filipino gatherings and also some Diwali and the Incheon and the Fijian communities. That's for us to socialise and also to support them too.  

We have six assessments. It was into nine months and then per assessment, we have a four assessments, A, B, C, D, something like that. And then all of the questions and the answers should be in essay writing. That's what I said a while ago. And per essay, you need to complete at least a minimum of 200 hours at 100 words per questionnaire. 

When I arrived in my class, my classmates were so loud and they were so welcoming. And then you kind of experience that you found another set of brothers and sisters. They will ask you where you came from and then what's your name? They always treat you like a local or there's no discrimination and it feels like you're at home. 

The first thing that we did was, we went to visit the campus of the institution that we were interested in. That's the first thing. And then the passport and the visa and then the support person. For me, my aunt supported me. That's why I need the bank account from her and then the passport from her and then also my passport and my birth certificate also, the IELTS, the English test and the medical. They asked me to have a medical to ensure that I'm fit to not only to work and to study, but I'm physically fit. And then the payment, of course. 

Um, it's not that hard because you are always told, that there's no wrong answer. As long as there's thought on your answers, as long as you express your idea, as long as it fits in the the word requirements. I think you don't need to be afraid of because English can be learned and you can also check the Google on if you have some difficulty. If you want to translate it into your own language to English language, it's kind of easy, 

We need to complete that too because that's also one of the requirements for us. 

In the Philippines, the breakfast, the lunch, the dinner, it's all it's all rice meals. But when you come here, it's fish and chips. It's kind of new for me. I also experiences and tested some Fijian and Indian and also Japanese and there's a lot. We went to a buffet one day and then I experienced a lot. In the end, it feels like some of their delicacies have some similar similarities from ours too.  

My campus is near to the mall. So every time we don't have a class or we finish our class, we always went to the Time Zone or the arcade and we used to do the bowling and then also karaoke because karaoke is life for the Philippines people. We went hiking, too. 

I tried only twice. It's not that tall. That One Tree Hill and also the Mount Ruapehu, the one where I experienced my first snow. Yeah. I'm so happy to experience that one, especially in the morning when there's no one. 

Yeah. I'm currently living in Tata 2, Henderson. I was supposed to be enrolled in the CBD. It's kind of central here, but unfortunately, it was closed so I was transferred to the Manukau Campus. So my location is from the West and then my school is from East North. My classes start at 8:30 so I need to leave my house around six because my travel time is 2 hours. But if, if those people want to enroll here, there's more places nearby that you can apply. There's a lot of institutions that are near to your house if you want to. 

Living in Auckland is quite like you're living in New York. NY feels something like that because especially in Auckland CBD, it feels like New York feels because it is a district. Auckland it's quite similar to my place in the Philippines because I also live in in a metropolitan, which is a central district 2IN Mandaluyong, Philippines. And then I'm living here in Henderson. It's quite near to the business district. So, it's kind of similar, but the weather is not similar. Even though it's afternoon, when you go outside it's kind of cold. That's why. Ohh, I need to wear jacket every time  - and pants. 

I think that are all the questions. I might conclude our presentation just to say thank you to all of our presenters today, especially Carlos, whose experience about study and lifestyle in New Zealand has no doubt been of great value to all. I always learn something new and I hope you did too. And to our attendees: Tēna koutou katoa, thank you all for taking the time to join us here today. And we hope you enjoyed the presentation.